The Benefits of Juicing: Top 4 reasons why you may want to give juicing a chance

by Joanna | Juicing

Although I’m a great believer in green smoothies and I pretty much gave up on juicing the last couple of years, I decided to give juicing another try.

Just a few days ago I purchased a brand new Breville juicer (which, by the way, came with a free DVD “Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead” movie), brought a few bags of produce from a farmers market, and set of to make some colorful juice.

So I made a few quarts of vegetable juice and we sat down with my husband (who, incidentally, came down with a fever and a nasty virus infection) to watch the Joe Cross documentary of his 60 juicing reboot.

Here is why.

The Benefits of Juicing: My Top 4 reasons why you may want to give juicing a chance

There are probably many more convincing arguments for juicing, but let’s just start with these four:

Juicing Benefit # 1. Certain vegetables are simply better suited for juicing than blending.

I mean, I’m pretty open minded, and I have tried my share of beet smoothies, carrot smoothies and cabbage smoothies (and I wrote about them on this blog), but let’s face it – for most people these smoothies won’t be palatable, unless you only include a tiny amount of these vegetables and cover the taste with lots of sweet fruits, herbs, lemon and/or ginger – which is still beneficial, but considering the enormous nutritional power that they contain, it’s a shame not to consume more of them regularly.

These vegetables include already mentioned roots, such as beets, sweet potatoes, carrots or parsnips; as well as cabbage, broccoli, and other.

They work great in juices, whereas in smoothies they will only work in small quantities. So, if you are like me, not eating enough of these veggies, then juicing will let you add more variety to your diet.

Juicing Benefit # 2. When we drink juices, the body works less to digest the nutrients.

I love how filling green smoothies are, but sometimes you want to give your body a break from even the healthy fibers. Juice, the liquid without the fiber, allows your digestive system to work less to extract the benefits.

For people who want to really re-set their system (as in the juice reboot “Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead“), taking a finite break from fiber has the benefit of allowing your digestive system to have a bit of a rest.

Juicing Benefit #3. More vegetables per glass.

You can consume more vegetables and greens into a single glass of green juice than you would in a smoothie serving.

Juicing Benefit #4. The “Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead” documentary

I wish someone made a documentary about green smoothies, but for now we have Joe Cross’ film about a juice detox cleanse. Here why I love it so much.

I don’t need to be persuaded of the benefits of plant based nutrition. However, whenever I talk to my husband about it, he replies that he needs his meat and dairy for protein and other nutrients; that he feels week without them, that he needs animal foods to build muscle, etc.

Don’t get me wrong. He is not a meat-and-potato kind of guy and he does like his veggies; but he doesn’t eat nearly enough of them.

So, what I love about the movie is that it’s about a regular guy in his forties (my husband is a few years older, but generally close enough in age to be able to relate to him), who gets sick and tired of feeling sick and tired, and goes on a juice cleanse, and switches to a 100% plant-based nutrition, no fish, meat or dairy whatsoever; and looks and feels GREAT as a result.

Not weak, or overly thin, but very strong and athletic. Plus he seems about 10 years younger.

He also cures his diseases and goes completely off of all medications he’d been taking for years.

All this definitely got my husband’s attention, and – although I don’t expect him to become vegan or go on a 60 day juice cleanse – I do think that the movie shook a bit his deep-belief on the necessity of animal products to keep healthy and strong – a belief that has been holding him from achieving better health and losing weight.

So he finally agreed to make some substantial changes to his diet, which makes me very happy.

You can find “Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead” documentary on Amazon and Netflix).

The juicer that Joe has been using (BTW it’s the one that I bought too) is Breville Juice Fountain, which you can find on Amazon or in any store that carries kitchen appliances.

Juicing or blending, which is better?

Whether you choose blending or juicing, you are gifting your body improved health by using these nutrient packed drinks. Regularly drinking smoothies or fresh, veggie-based juice will:

• increase your veggie intake dramatically
• make it easier and quicker for your body to absorb nutrients because the blending and juicing allows the foods to become somewhat “pre-digested”
• curb appetite and reduce cravings for sugar and processed foods because you are nourishing your cells with what they are asking for – micronutrients. You body no longer craves the “carbs” (macronutrient).

So, it’s a win-win-win!

Questions? Comments? Suggestions?

If you have a favorite recipe, why not submit it here in the comment section of this smoothie recipes blog for others to enjoy too!

I also welcome any comments, questions and suggestions. Thanks!